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(No Model.) V v P. W. ROE BLING & W. ORR, Jr.

' WIRE CLOTH SGBNERY. No. 293,981) Patented Feb. 19, 1884.

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FERDINAND w. ROEBLING AND WrLLIAMonE, JR, or VTRENTON, NEW

JERSEY, ASSIGNORS ro THE NEW JEnsEY WIRE CLOTH COMPANY,

OF SAME PLACE WIRE-CLOTH SCENERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,981, dated February 19,1884.

- Application filed November 3, 1853. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FERDINAND XV. RoEB- LING and VVILLIAM ORR, J r., both of Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have jointly invented a new and useful improvement in the art of rendering thea ter-sceiiery incombustible, which invention or improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and drawing, which represents a view in perspective of a roll of scenery-cloth embodying my invention.

The object of this invention is to make a fabric for theater-scenery, and such like purposes, which shall be practically incombustible, or only so partially and slowly destructible as to insure comparative absolute safety from fire when used insteadof ordinary paintedcanvas scenery. The basis of this fabric is wirecloth, and its meshes or interstices are so closed or filled by a fire-proof or other suitable cement or thickened pigment as to cover the surfaeeof the material and render the same smooth and of such uniform character as to readily receive and retain any painting or pictorial representation which may be subsequently laid on, either with a brush or printed, the flexibility of the cloth being at the same time retained sufficiently to Wind the material into rolls without destroying its coating or injuring its surface. Various materials may be employed in making the filling and coating used, such as clay, asbestus, and many of the mineral paints and common pigments. Of course, the more incombustible the nature of the cement or compound the more incombustible the whole fabric will be. The wire-cloth alone, however,is practically an incombustible foundation. For some of the materials used, less fibrous or tenacious, there may be iuterspaced or woven between the warp of the wire woolen or other yarn, which will serve to hold the filling more securely to the cloth. The filling and coating, if a cement of clay and any suitable vehicle or coloringmatter, is applied (after thoroughly mixing the ingredients to about the consistency of thick flour paste) by passing the wire-cloth in single thickness through the mixture and between two parallel bars of metal suitably placed in relation to the vessel containing the mixture,

so that the edges of the bars on the side'where the cloth enters between them shall be farther apart than 011 the exit side. A superabundance of the cement will thus enter between the bars and become compressed as the opening be tween said bars decreases in area, until finally at the outlet a web or sheet of the fabric emerges of uniform surface and of required density, when, after being drawn away by any suitable carrier or conveyer and dried, it may be wound into rolls, ready for the decorativeartist or hanger.

The best way of applying an asbestus filling and coating is to mix the ground asbestus into a cement with any suitable pigment or coloringmatter as a vehicle, and then apply the same to the wire-clotl1 in the manner above described.

For any filling, generally in the nature of a pigment, a good method of making the same is to thicken such pigment with asbestus and clay into a cement, and to apply the same as above directed; or the mixture so thickened may be applied by passing the wire cloth, after being entirely covered with the mixture, between pairs of soft rolls. This operation may be repeated several times to obtain a sufficient thickness or body of coating, as may be desirable for special purposes.

W'ire-cloth thus treated becomes practically fire-proof, for, unless subjected to heat intense enough to melt the wire inside its covering and filling, a screen or scene thus made will retain sufficient body not only to protect the wire, but also to intercept the progress of flame. Said fire-proof material, after having been manu factured in suitable lengths, can be wound into rolls or bundles, as merchandise, and cut to lengths suitable for such use as may be made of it. For screens, scenes, or stagescenery it may be sewed together or otherwise connected, and may be tacked to such supports as are ordinarily used for other scenic material. It may also be fastened to metal rods or strips, as may be found convenient or desirable for many different uses. The accompanying drawing is i11- tended to illustrate in perspective a roll of the manufactured material.

XVe do not confine ourselves to the special means described of mixing and applying the per 86 new. Ve are also aware that non-combustible materials have been combined in certain ways with textile fabrics, and also in sheets sewed or stitched to and alternating with sheets of wire-cloth; and also that pictorial or ornamental painting has been applied on top of a sizing or varnish coating 011 furnitiuecoverings and similar materials, and none such, as of our invention, do we claim but, 7

Having thus fully described and disclosed our said invention, we claim 1. The process herein described of rendering stage-scenery incombustible or fireproof, consisting in coating wire-cloth with a cement composed of asbestus or clay, one or both, combined with a suitable vehicle or vehicles therefor, as described, bysubjecting said cloth and a body of said cement together to frictional drawing or rolling pressure, whereby the fabric so pro duced is given a smooth and durable surface, suitable for the artists brush or scenic decoration, substantially as set forth.

2. As a new article of m auufacture, a flexible incombustible fabric, consisting of wire-cloth an d a cement formed of the materials described, compressed into the meshes of said cloth, thoroughly closing and coating the same, so that the surface of the material thus formed is rendered uniformly even and smooth and capable of receiving colors laid on with a brush or printed for purposes of ornamentation or scenic effect, substantially as described and set forth.

w. P. WILsbN, E. V. TAYLOR. 

